If you're a defender you need the overhead in your toolbox to get out of high presses and if you want to become more of an attacking threat.

But maybe you're not confident to use it because:

🏑 The ball sometimes rolls off your stick, giving it straight to the attacker

🏑 You either hook it left or have no idea where it's going to go

🏑 You lack power and distance so you feel like it's a wasted attempt

Perhaps you have more faith in trying to hit the ball through 3+ players than use an overhead in game situations.

Or you're worried about it flopping and turning the ball over again.

Why do you need the overhead skill?

It's an essential skill for the modern day defender and midfielder that can be used from a free hit (i.e. 16 yard or sideline hit), especially when you're full pressed and there are little to no passing options on.

It can also be used to create more attacking options. Being able to throw the ball over players heads effectively eliminates any press the opposition plays.

Having the overhead skill in your armoury can be a weapon and poses a massive threat for the opposition so it's a great way to stand out as a defender.

So, how do I improve my overhead?

The overhead has a few technical points that you need to learn first.

And in order to improve you need to do a lot of repetition.

But repetition with poor technique is going to reinforce bad habits which will make it harder and take you longer to improve.

One of the common mistakes many hockey players make is try to fix everything at the same time.

So, how do you know what to focus on first?

Become your own coach.

Imagine if you knew exactly what you needed to fix when you make one of the common overhead mistakes.

By learning the technical points you don't need to rely on a coach to be with you or tell you what to do every time you train.

You'll be able to quickly identify which step to focus on which makes it easier to correct the common mistakes instantly.

This allows you to re-focus on what's important and move on from mistakes much quicker.

As a result of knowing exactly what to focus on, it would also stop you from overthinking and allow you to focus on just that ONE thing, rather than trying to correct all the steps at the same time.